The Little One Effect

J is playing with Little One while I get some work done this morning. Now, I am upstairs, so I could have misunderstood. But I am fairly certain that I just heard my serious, rather sophisticated husband say: "poopy-doop".
I will now go sit by the window, to watch for flying pigs.

Aargh

Beware the Pirate Black(berry)beard!

My Fair Lady

The multitudes of flashing strobe lights. The blaring, un-edited-for-language rap music. Throngs of sweaty strangers. Cloying air thick with grease smoke. The smell of a thousand animals sharing a room, and the glorified merchandising of plastic junk. Ahhh, the county fair. You may not think of it as the perfect environment for my tender 10 month old t0 spend a serene afternoon, but you would be as wrong as the two-year-old we met who wanted to play "splashies" in pig urine.
Just ask Little One! She didn't get to enjoy any of the gourmet concoctions out of the fleet of deep fryers, but She did enjoy Her picnic while watching bevies of poofy-haired little girls shake their bon-bons and back their thangs up on the outdoor stage. Just taking in that show would probably have been worth the entrance fee, as far as She was concerned. (I wasn't sure whether to be concerned myself, or to put Her on the wait-list for the studio).
But there was more!
We strolled past shouting vendors, safaried through herds of shrieking children, and climbed mountainous peaks of hay. Little One's eyes said, "Ooooohhhhh! Aaaaahhhhhh!"
But Her favorite part was the animals. They make fun noises to copy. They move around autonomously! They smell SO interesting.

She made particularly close friends with this guy, who was either really cute and friendly, or wanted very badly to eat Her.







She met Her friend for tours of exotic creatures and indoor exhibits, strolled through the occasional burst of rain, and splashed in puddles. She even watched a baby chick hatch. (Which was about the cutest thing ever since SHE hatched).
She cheered on the horse races. She even got to pet a bunny and a chicken. She was delighted. So delighted, that when the bunny hopped off to entertain other squealing tykes, She simply transferred Her attention to the nearest furry animal- and began petting the shiny blond tresses of the boy next to Her.
Since Little One is not yet "This Tall to Ride", we satisfied ourselves with just strolling through the tilt-a-whirls and ferris wheels, and the cacophony of the midway was plenty adventurous just to pass through. I had planned on topping off the big day with a ride on the carousel, but when I checked in Little One in the ticket line, I realized that the fair had been SO exciting that something happened in Her stroller which practically never happens.

She plumb wore out.
Ah, well. There will be many carousels and other adventures in the future. I certainly can't say She didn't squeeze a ton of fun out of things. She had a blast, and She did great. Definitely worthy of a blue ribbon!

Upstanding Citizen

My little biped-in-training is pulling up on everything now.




The couch.











The playcenter.










The chair.












The toybox.




The dogs.
But the very first time She achieved independent verticallity I am happy to say I was there! Because it's really, really cool to see someone do something like that for the very first time ever. And also because I shudder to think what may have happened if I had not been there.
Because one minute Little One was a safely kenneled quadriped, and the next minute She was doing this:
Doesn't She look proud? She was. So was I. But then She did this:
And started contemplating escape routes. Oh no you don't! I called in the expert to turn things down a notch. Little One, still on a rush from Her big accomplishment, felt confident that She could help Daddy lower the mattress.




She was happy to co-mechanic with him.







What a helper!

The kennel has been sufficiently fortified and approved for vertical usage. And apparently, so have Her legs!

Water Baby

Another of Little One's favorite things is bath time. She splashes around so effervescently She could have a best-selling show at sea world. So you can imagine Her delight when Aunt W. invited us to use the guest pass at her neighborhood pool. "Ooooh," said Little One. "A GIANT bath tub!"
Using the floaty in the baby pool, Her feet touch the bottom so She can flintsone Her way all around, taking Ducky on fantastical maritime adventures.

Which makes going to the pool like being in a bath tub AND a walker. Add in Ducky and Aunt W, and we have four favorites in one!

Which equal a very happy mer-Little One. The "Ducky and Little One at Sea" show will continue to have showtimes throughout the remainder of summer. We charge one trip to the ice cream truck (I will be serving as the ticket agent). Come on down and step right up!

Because one metaphor is never enough

I sent in my letter officially declining my position at school. It sounded like this in my head:

ka-BAAM!!!

Like a big giant door slamming shut. For a minute I sat there and thought, ouch.
And it made me sad. Little One doesn't like sadness. She likes giggles and rainbows and puppy dogs. So She decided to cheer me up by giving me a pep talk. She proceeded to say the most amazing, wonderful, cheery-uppest thing I have ever heard (She may become a motivational speaker when She grows up. She'll probably have Her own infomercials and everything). She said:

Mama.

She said it, and then She kept on saying it, and even when it was kind of like, "waahhh mama mamma MAMMAAA!!!" following me around all whiny because She wasn't allowed to chew on electrical cords, it was still the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. And a magical thing happened, yes it did. All those "mamma"s filled up my ears and swirled and swelled dancing around in my head and just completely drowned out the sound of doors slamming shut.
Sometimes Little One, with Her constant and incredible progress, has a way of reminding me to focus on what's ahead and what's possible, instead of what's done and in the past.
So yesterday there was a door. It's closed. Moving on! I'm now in the business of opening windows.

A Few of Her Favorite Things

Little One knows Her mind, and She plays favorites. Some things get special treatment for a time, but then the novelty wears off and they get abandoned like so many purses in my closet. But there are a few faves which appear consistently on the top of Her charts. I thought surely you Peanuts will want to know what She endorses. In case you are missing out on the latest trends. For example:

The number one all time bestselling book around here is "Mr. Brown can Moo". By Doc Seuss. Oprah, have you heard? This read is hilarious!
(Runners up include "peek-a-who" and "ten nine eight". "Fox in Socks" is still popular, but only if Daddy reads it.)Ducks. Rubber ducks, soft ducks in the farm book, the duck in Her tug boat. The duck on Her car seat. Ducks ducks ducks. Ducks in the bath, especially.
BROCCOLI. This child can just about consume Her weight in little steamed trees. She crams it into Her mouth so fast Her cheeks go all chipmunky. She eats it until we are sure it will start leaking from Her ears and belly button. Eventually we have to just cut Her off.
The doggies. She reaches out and cries for them when they get put outside, or when we leave without them. She squeals in delight when She sees them. She terrorizes them constantly. Especially E. Little One is now speedy enough to chase her around. To climb over like a furry little mountain. To hook Her talons into E's fur and try to pull to a stand.
This Thing. This wins as the King of All Favorite Stuffs. It is a plastic palm tree. With a little purple monkey thing attached. It's not even a toy in its own right; it's a piece of the activity board on Her anchored walker. Why Her love affair with this palm tree is so deep, devoted, and unending we have NO idea. But there are not even words to describe how much she adores it. She never gets sick of it, it always makes Her smile.
Oh yes. And:

So there you go. In the unlikely and unfortunate events of dog bites or bee stings, you are now prepared.

Placing my Order

Oh, life Peanuts. Life. Life is like......like the lunch special at my favorite Indian restaurant.
You can order the entree, and have a huge, heaping plate of ONE delicious thing. Or you can get the buffet, and have just a bit of lots of different things. But you can't do both. There simply isn't room for all that. You'd kill yourself trying to stuff it all in! Or at the very least end up with a terrible case of heartburn. That's no fun.
Now me, I've been metaphorically staring at the menu for TWO YEARS now. Trying to decide whether to do this one big huge thing- finish school. It's turned out to be the hardest decision of my whole life. I've deferred twice. The admissions office is like an irritated waiter, tapping impatiently on the ordering pad. "What will it be?"
I thought I came here for one specific dish. But then I wasn't sure...so many options...entree or buffet? Entree, buffet? Entree or buffet?!?!! Gah!!!
There are 875,642 variables that I entered into this decision making equation. But here's what I came up with. I think it would be very possible to be Little One's mommy and to work on this degree at the same time. But it would be very hard, and for a long long long long time, and it would certainly leave room for not much else. And you know, I'm really a smorgasboard kind of girl. I always want try everything.
I'll not kid myself; I'll be passing up a huge opportunity. Huge! But...it's not the only opportunity. Going with the buffet might not be what I had planned, and it might look sort of messy and hodgepogde on the plate, but it's sort of exciting in it's own way. There are lots of spicy options to try! Plus, there's the naan.
Do you know about Indian food? Little One gets to be the naan in this metaphor. In Indian food, naan is always part of the meal. No matter what you order, naan comes with it. It is the staple foundation upon which everything else must go.
If you order an entree, you get a limited amout. Just one little plate of naan with your lunch. In the buffet, well. You can have as much as you wish. You can get nothing but naan, should it happen to be your favorite. Metaphorically speaking, naan really is my very, very favorite.
I'm going to be sad that I passed up the PhD altogether. It was a one-time special. But I'm going to do my best to heap some other good stuff on my plate. And it's very nice to know that, now, I can have all the Little One I can fill myself with.

Evolution

Little One is getting Big and Smart. Just the other day, it seems,
She needed one of us to feed Her a bottle.

Then She got strong enough to hold it Herself.

Then She patented this new and improved system:
Now She can drink Her formula like a Big Girl!
Soon we expect She'll be swirling it around in Her glass with Her pinky sticking out.

Gettin' Physical

I confess I've never been to into the whole "gymboree" thing. Even though I used to teach classes like that, I've always been of the idea that they are kind of just pricey germ-fests that cater more to the parents than the kids, who would be just as happy crawling around anywhere else.
But Little One got asked on a date by O, so we thought, why not? Anything with O is fun! And we hit the gym. The "Little Gym".
I have to say- I stand corrected. Little One had SO much fun. She was super into it, clapping and "singing" along to the songs, showing off Her girlish figure for all the burly guys. And She got quite the workout.

She did some pull-ups.

Played Soccer.

Helped lead some calisthenics.

Did some rock-climbing and even went spelunking.

But Her favorite part was the yoga-meditation at the end- pretty music and bubbles. (Which are among the most amazing things She has ever witnessed.) oOOooohhhh....

It wasn't all Zen. Little One is a shameless, and I mean shameless flirt. Where did She get that from?! Look at the drama She caused by strutting around in Her gym clothes in front of this dude:

O: Dude, that's my girl.
Dude: Talk to the hand, Bruh! I'm checkin' out this chica.
Little One: Now now boys. Tee hee.


Dude: C'mere, babe, I gotta big slobbery kiss comin' your way!
O: Oh no. Oh no you did not.


O: It's ON now, Dude!
Dude: Gah! Your wrestling stance is too strong!
Don't worry. The guys had a nice handshake and made up. And Little One and O were back in the Tunnel of Love in no time. He's Her top guy, after all.

What a day. Love triangles, action, adventure, singing, dancing. It was like a Bollywood masterpiece. Little One had a blast. I confess, I did too. Who knew? Little Gym is big fun!

Ten Months

Yes, I am a slacker. Little One's big double-digit birthday
was 5 days ago. Double digits! Whew. It's not that I've been too lazy. It's that 10-month-old Little One is keeping me frenetically ballet dancing through the days- always on my toes. Just look at what She's been up to and you'll see why my caffeine intake has increased so dramatically over the last month:

First of all. Little One is crawling. In honor of Her military dad, She does it commando-style, with Her belly mopping the floor for me everywhere She goes. Do not for an instant think that slows Her down. She is fast. She is nimble. She is all. over. the. place. ALL the time. Leaving swaths of destruction in Her wake. Hunting the dogs like a famished lion- creep, sprint, spring, grab! engulf, devour.
She is leading expeditions of discovery through the far corners of the house. Leaving no minutia unexplored, no moveable objects unturned-over, no substance un-tasted.
The properties of all things must be investigated and cataloged. Does it rattle? Does it bang? Can it be pulled apart? Does it open? Does it close? How many times can it do so? Can things go into it? Can it be thrown? Can I go through it? Over? Under? What will happen if I smash it with a wooden block? How does it respond to gravity?
Oh yes. We are learning.
Not just about the world, about Her Self, and what She is capable of. Little One has learned that She can do all of these things now that She's in the double-digits:

Hold Her own cup to take a drink

Baby-sign to ask for "more" or tell us she's had "enough"

Crash towers of blocks like a chubby little Godzilla

Eat soft chunks of food instead of mush- all by Herself thank you. Do NOT try to help, thank you.

Go from lying down to sitting up, reverse, rinse, repeat.

Stand up!!!
Sit down.
Repeat. Repeat. REPEAT. During nap time. In the bath tub. At 3 am. Whenever the mood so strikes Her.

Help Herself to toys from baskets, books from shelves, contents of cabinets, and so forth.

Carry things from one place to another. The dogs are no longer taking blame when spoons show up under the sofa and shoes are torn from their mates and must be plastered on milk cartons to be re-united.

Make not only Her own vast and varied repertoire of sounds, but also copy others. This pertains to voice inflection, sneezes, gum-chewing, and- dog barking. Some are cuter in public than others.

Use the potty.

Yep. Little One recently made it clear that She is aware of needing to, you know, go. We introduced Her to the potty, and it's very nice how well they are getting along. Little One has successfully used Her potty dozens of times now. I stopped counting in the teens. She uses it regularly in the morning, and sometimes "asks" for it by fussing or crawling over to it. In the PM, much depends (hee hee, depends) on whether we are home, how closely parents are paying attention, and whether She is having too much fun to be bothered with it, and peeing is hit or miss right now (hee hee, hit or miss). But it's a good start and has made laudering diapers MUCH easier and less smelly. And She gets very proud of Herself when She's done, giving Herself a hearty round of applause.

Other things get applause, too. Like strangers, which are no longer scary, thank goodness. Peek-a-boo. Playground swings. Getting out and seeing the world. She also enjoys climbing up and all over Her parents and the doggies as if they are nothing more than custom-made jungle gyms.

We are accepting this in Lieu of cuddles. Because Little One still loves Her cuddles- but She finds that now She's a big 10 month old, She just doesn't have that much time for them. For instance. Rather than getting all cozy and sleepy in our arms before bed, She'd rather be plunked in Her crib to do pull-ups, downfacing-dog yoga stretches, sit-ups, yodeling, and other exercises until She- rather than being gently lulled to sleep- collapses into a heap of exhaustion after burning every last milli-ounce of energy Her little body can muster. Then She wakes up like a properly re-charged battery, raring to go some more.

The last month seems to have been a turning point. Little One is now quite sure of a sneaking suspicion She had been forming. Which is that She is Little One- Her own distinct and separate self, and that rather than being a little cuddly bit of something in our world, we are supporting characters in Hers. She is becoming more independent and confident by the second, and it has been amazing to watch our little baby sort of coalesce into Her very own person. It's a bit sad, because we know. We know where this is all leading. It's leading to saying "no", to breaking rules, to questioning us, rebelling against us....leaving us. But its very happy for all those same reasons.

Little One, we are proud of you for being You the way only you ever can. Being supporting characters in Your world is the best role we've ever had. We love it, and we love you. In fact, we rate it a 10!